Friedrich Simmel und Aurore Dupin, researchers at the TUM, have for the first time created artificial cell assemblies that can communicate with each other. The cells, separated by fatty membranes, exchange small chemical signaling molecules to trigger more complex reactions, such as the production of RNA and other proteins.

The NIM biophysicist Prof Alexander Högele won a Proof of Concept Grant of the European Research Council (ERC) for the development of a "cavity-enhanced optical microscope". This new project is based on his work on new microscopy technologies which were already funded by the ERC with Starting and Consolidator Grants.

Prof. Markus-Christian Amann passed away unexpectedly on 23 November 2018 at the age of 67 years. Until April 2018 he was Full Professor for Semiconductor Technology at TUM and Director of the Walter Schottky Institut. Professor Amann was member of NIM since its foundation in 2007. We will always keep him in honorable memory.

Prof. Tim Liedl was awarded with an ERC Consolidator Grant for his project on "DNA-based functional lattices". It is the second ERC Grant in the career of the NIM biophysicist whose research focusses on DNA origami and the applications of this technique.

Prof Dr Dr h.c. mult. Peter Hänggi was awarded two important honors: The NIM-physicist received the Smoluchowski-Warburg-Prize 2019 of the German Physical Society (DPG) and was appointed Honorary Professor of the Huaqiao University in China.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria are on rise. Help comes from their natural enemies, the bacteriophages. Students from LMU and TU München, also from the group of NIM-scientist Prof. Friedrich Simmel, have developed a new method for their production. Their project was awarded with the second place in the renowned global iGEM competition.

Even tiny amounts of viruses can have disastrous consequences. RNA identification can reveal the type of virus present. A fast and sensitive technique based on optical detection has now been outlined by researchers around the NIM biophysicist Prof Tim Liedl.

The NIM Conference “The Future of NanoScience” provided a platform for vivid discussions about the development and news in this exciting field. Research topics of participating scientists span from quantum nanophysics over nanosystems for energy conversion towards biomolecular and biomedical nanotechnologies.

The TEDx conference stands for short presentations that are attended online by millions of people worldwide. Since 2014, this format is also offered at the TUM. The presentation of Prof. Hendrik Dietz and other speakers of this year's event on "Tiny Superpowers" are now available online.

Motor proteins in cells can move along protein filaments in ways that interfere with each other’s progress. A new model developed by LMU physicists shows how this can lead to gridlock, even when there is still plenty of empty space.

Solar-powered water splitting is a promising means of generating clean and storable energy. A novel catalyst based on semiconductor nanoparticles has now been shown to facilitate all the reactions needed for “artificial photosynthesis”.

Rod-shaped bacterial cells normally divide by constriction midway along their long axis. LMU physicists have developed a theoretical model to explain how Myxococcus xanthus localizes the plane of division to mid-cell.

Biophysicists from Augsburg and Santa Barbara report in Physical Review E on the first successful outcome in the targeted dynamic positioning of nerve cells on a chip. The proven Augsburg surface acoustic wave technology now opens up new ways of understanding and influencing neuronal networks.

Increasing temperature changes the twist of the DNA helix. To quantify this process, an international team of researchers led by the biophysicist Prof Jan Lipfert applied single-molecule magnetic tweezers measurements and extensive computer simulations to DNA molecules.

LMU physicists have characterized in detail the optical response of semiconducting tungsten diselenide bilayer crystals and explained their distinctive spectral signatures. Owing to their intriguing physical properties, ultrathin 2D materials have become a major focus of research in nanoscience.

Plasmonic metal antennas allow localizing and enhancing light on a nanometer scale – and also the generation of ultrafast electric pulses in macroscopic circuits, as NIM physicist Prof Alexander Holleitner and colleagues could now demonstrate by utilizing the effect of electron photoemission.

The new issue of the NIM Newsletter “Nanosystems NEWS” is out now! It presents an overview over the various NIM events during the last year and provides insights into the exiting research on quantum sensors, diffusion processes, new ways of energy generation and smart drug carriers. In a new series, we discuss the family support programs of NIM.

In the new Collaborative Research Centre TRR 235 “Emergence of life: Explorating mechanisms with cross-disciplinary experiments”, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), several NIM scientists will explore this thrilling question under the lead of Prof Dieter Braun.

Globally, cancer is the second leading cause of death, also because the efficiency of chemotherapeutics is inadequate due to poor delivery to the tumor. NIM scientist Prof Olivia Merkel and her team develop targeted nanocarrier systems to increase the delivery rates of therapeutic formulations and their specific uptake into the target cells.

The European Research Council awards the NIM biophysicist Prof Hendrik Dietz with an ERC Proof of Concept Grant. In this new project, he aims to develop a “Nanodevice” to measure the kinetic properties of molecular reactions using an inexpensive, simple and reliable device.

Analogous to a phenomenon known for music instruments when overtones of two different fundamental notes get into resonance, NIM scientists from LMU Munich have found a new effect regarding the optical excitation of charge carriers in a solar semiconductor. It could facilitate the use of infrared light, which is normally lost in solar devices.

Correct protein localization is crucial for many fundamental cellular processes. The NIM scientists Prof Erwin Frey and Prof Petra Schwille have now asked how to confer robustness against variations in protein concentrations on pattern formation mechanisms.

The Sino-German Young Researcher Symposium on “Nanopharmaceuticals: Drug Delivery in the Nanoscale” in Munich was organized by Dr Ulrich Lächelt (LMU) and Prof Rongqin Huang (Fudan University, Shanghai) to promote the scientific exchange between young scientists from China and Germany, working on new nanocarrier formulations and drug delivery.

Filamentous polymers called microtubules play vital roles in chromosome segregation and molecular transport. NIM scientist Prof Erwin Frey and coworkers have now examined how microtubule lengths vary in response to changes in the availability of their protein components.

Living cells inside a tissue can pull on their environment. NIM biophysicist Prof Chase Broedersz and colleagues demonstrated that this cellular pulling dramatically enhances the stiffness of the surrounding matrix. They developed a new method - the Nonlinear Stress Interference Microscopy (NSIM) - to measure elastic interactions between cells and the extracellular matrix.

The NIM scientist Prof Dieter Braun is exploring the Origins of Life. For his new research project on the “Mechanisms of emergence and replication of primary sequence information of life in the geothermic microfluidics of the early earth”, the biophysicist receives an ERC Advanced Grant worth 2.5 million euro.

The Start-up company "Tubulis Technologies" receives the Leibniz-Gründerpreis 2018. NIM scientist Prof Heinrich Leonhardt is one of the founders und supports the company developing new antibody-drug conjugates for the specific treatment of tumors.

In recognition of his pioneering and lasting contributions on the beneficial role of fluctuations in statistical mechanics in and away from thermal equilibrium, NIM scientist Prof Dr Dr h.c. mult. Peter Hänggi receives the Blaise Pascal Medal in Physics 2018 awarded by the European Academy of Science.

Brown adipose tissue has played a key role in prevention research since its presence was first documented in adults. However, there was no non-invasive method of measuring its heat generation. NIM scientist Prof Vasilis Ntziachristos and his team now succeeded in making the activity of brown adipose tissue visible without injecting substances.

The development and evaluation of DNA origami-based nanorulers enables measurements in the nano cosmos with increasing precision. NIM scientist Prof Dr Philip Tinnefeld and his team explore such self-assembled nano structures.

The formation of self-organizing molecular patterns in cells is a critical component of many biological processes. NIM researcher Prof Dr Erwin Frey and a PhD student have proposed a new theory to explain how such patterns emerge in complex natural systems.

NIM physicist Prof Dr Erwin Frey and a colleague have disproven the conventional theory used to explain the dynamics of polymer solutions. They show that for biopolymers collective effects facilitate chain mobility, which is reminiscent of the behavior of glass-like materials.

Spin-polarization occurs as soon as an electric current flows in the topologic insulator material. Prof Dr Alexander Holleitner and his cooperation partners measured this for the first time optically at room temperature. In particular, they succeeded to steer spin-polarized currents towards the edges by a circularly polarized light beam and to read out the electron spin-polarization at the circuits facets.

Nanobots are now fast enough to do assembly line work in molecular factories. NIM Scientists Prof Friedrich Simmel and Prof Don C Lamb and colleagues have developed a novel electric propulsion technology for nanorobots. It allows molecular machines to move a hundred thousand times faster than with the biochemical processes used to date.

RNA was probably the first informational molecule. Now NIM chemist Prof Dr Thomas Carell and his team have demonstrated that alternation of wet and dry conditions could have sufficed to drive the prebiotic synthesis of the RNA nucleosides found in all domains of life.